Recovering Brilliance
by Sig Sauer
Summary: Can Artemis save himself from his mind with innovation?
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so: I do not own Artemis Fowl or any other characters from the Artemis Fowl Series. If I did, it would not be _Fan_fiction. This is just a teaser, I want to know if I should continue on the idea of Artemis escaping delusion with invention.**

Mending

Slowly lowering the cup's lip, Artemis raised his gaze from the tea. Furrowing thought clenched his brow as he fought to retain control. He could barely maintain this, as he was fourteen months, four days, sixteen hours into his Atlantis Complex treatment.

He fought the urge to panic; the primal instinct to throw his hands in the air and scream. Artemis Fowl the Second, he thought to himself, you will not be beaten by your own mind!

Stumbling to his feat, Artemis shambled into his bathroom. While not luxurious, the Argon Center catered to most of his needs. Nearly slipping, Artemis steadied himself on the handle of his small refrigerator.

Fists clenched, Artemis rapidly breathed in and out, in and out, seeking to calm himself. A roar of indignation arose from Artemis' lips; later he would think back and wince at the memory.

At last, his flailing digits met with stainless steal. A quick flick of his wrist and the pillar of smooth, quad-free water leapt from the sink's nozzle. Artemis' breathe evened out, first to a regular yet quick beating but then to the slow and steady _bum-bum. _

The Next Morning

Artemis shrugged the sheets of his torso and bolted upright. Such signs of excitement were rare from Fowl before the Complex, but now he had grown more… normal. After weeks of seclusion from all but Holly, Butler and his parents, a new guest would be arriving in a few minutes.

_Knock, knock. _

"Do I have to hack my way in, or something? Mud Boy technology doesn't beat my trusty, not-so-old omnitool. The delightfully sarcastic wit of Foaly resonated through Artemis' small room.

"Of course not. That would be silly. I already have four LEPrecon agents outside my room at any given time. Three, really, as Grub spends all his time venting and ranting," stated Artemis, nearing one of his old smirks.

Even as he spoke, Artemis fluidly crossed to his door and unlatched the old-fashioned lock. There wasn't a computer on, or under, the planet that could hack a piece of metal.

"Seeing as you aren't having so many nightmares about Ffurfor anymore, and Orion doesn't seem to be as dominant, Butler insisted you begin training in the use of a sidearm. You know, Artemis, he won't be the human shield you think of him as for much longer. If I may say so, it is exceptional skill on Holly's part that Butler is even alive." Foaly thought for a second if he'd been too sharp, and decided against it.

"Yes, yes, Butler detailed such in his last email. What about the parts I wanted?" Even after a year and a couple-odd months, Artemis was focused on the important parts of life such as building partially legal gadgets.

"Why you need sheet metal and a welding torch evades me, but I have those, the iris cam, and a Section Eight commander's helmet on their way in," verified the obnoxious half man.

"Oh, Foaly, it will all be obvious by the time you see me again." Foaly can clearly tell than Fowl on on the verge of something brilliant.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, Foaly, Koboi, Cabaline, or Trouble, nor Butler. Please read and review. Chapter Three coming this Sunday.**

"Yes, Trouble, I am requesting a job as an LEP consultant," repeated Artemis, clearly growing tired of the surprise.

"Artemis, I don't even know if that's legal. You're, you know, human."

"Not entirely…" Even Artemis knew this was unlikely to convince Trouble.

"Well, Artemis, exactly what could you give to the LEP? If I know for a fact you have something to offer, I may be willing to reconsider," said Trouble.

"For starters, I could track down any remnant of the goblin smuggling ring. Unlike you, I can easily blend in without shielding to hunt down the humans still smuggling," claimed Artemis.

"You mean, Butler could," laughed Trouble.

"Yes, yes… but I also have something I want to show Foaly… I device I hope to find Koboi with." Artemis smiled, something he could now do without seeming to be overly vampiric, as he played his trump card.

"Fine. I'm offering you three months to find Koboi. Find Koboi, and you're a consultant. Report to Foaly tomorrow, he's head of the technical consultant branch of the LEP." Now, the vampiric grin appeared, but not on the face of Artemis but Trouble's.

"Thank you, _sir_," quipped Artemis.

"Dismissed," laughed Trouble.

As the fog of sleep lifted from Artemis' eyes, he recalled yesterday's conversation. Donning his customary suit, Artemis glanced over his shoulder at the suspiciously free of sharp edges room, and stepped out the door.

The breeze cut across his pale visage, and Artemis loved it. He was outside for the first time in one year. Three hundred, sixty-five days… and seventy-three time five in three hundred sixty five.

Raising both hands over his head, as was customary for Havinian taxi-hailing, a startled sprite finally agreed to carry him to Police Plaza.

"P-p-police Plaza? But… you're a Mud Man!" stammered the poor sprite.

Artemis arched his eyebrow and held out his fare. The sprite's speed did not drop below seventy miles an hour, which was ridiculous for a taxi in Haven for inner-City delivery.

The lights of Haven dazzled Artemis, from the neon signs to the fake sun. The colors of the buildings were brighter and purer than anything seen above the Earth's crust.

Finally the taxi pulled to a screeching halt, and Artemis nimbly threw his legs over the lip of the taxi onto the blacktop plateau of Police Plaza.

A helpful map glared near Artemis, allowing him to quickly find his way to Tech. A small satellite dish tracked his movement across the blacktop. _Blacktop, _mused Artemis, _are the fairies really that alike to us? _

Any further musings were interrupted by a jesting voice.

"Fowl! Follow me… to your cubicle."

"C-c-cubicle!" Artemis was lost for words, for the second time since his 6th birthday.

"Yes, Mud Boy, cubicle," jeered Foaly.

In actuality, the cubicle wasn't that bad. Much of the word must've been lost in meaning between species, as what Artemis came upon was a shared office.

_Why is this room so… familiar? I fear my office-mate is quite paranoid. One way glass, for goodness sake, and plasma tile… Oh!_

"You work in a cubicle?" inquired Artemis.

"Aw come on. I thought I could get you complaining about it, Cabaline would've loved doing a PPTV episode on annoyed Mud Boys…" trailed off Foaly. "So what about this new invention…"  
>"Yes, here I have it." Artemis reached into his coat and pulled what appeared to be a miniature rocket with a green circle for a nose.<p>

"Not bad. I suppose that was all you could do, but it is an improvement on ours," said Foaly. "What exactly does it do?"  
>"It works very similarly to your 'scopes,' in that it can hack into satellites and steal audio or video. Also, it is highly portably and aerodynamic. Due to the perforations in the sides, a patent design of mine, it can fly with minimal propulsion. Once it's going, it needs no fuel. The flaps on the side can steer. Lastly, the iris cam on the tip can relay video," monologued Artemis.<p>

"How does the iris cam charge? No brain power charging this," Foaly complained.

"It absorbs and processes nitrogen particles," quipped Artemis smugly.

"Oh…." Said Foaly, shocked by Artemis. "The hunt for Koboi starts tomorrow."

From across the room, a young centaur comes through the door.

"Daddy?" cried the young centaur. "I can't find Mommy! All that I found was a note.

"Read it, Colter," said Foaly.

"_Foaly, Artemis – Stop looking for me. There is no way you will find me. If you continue the hunt I will take more of the people you love."_


End file.
